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Headaches are a common complaint often associated with sinusitis. However, the true cause for a headache may be difficult to determine due to various reasons. The United States Center for Disease Control reports that sinusitis affects over 30 million people and is the most common chronic disease in this country.

If you can predict an approaching thunderstorm by the throbbing in your head, Sisters Hospital has a new diagnosis and treatment option that can help relieve your sinus pain. Dr. James Chmiel, a Catholic Health Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon at Sisters Hospital sees patients who have already been evaluated for headaches, but have not found a cause. Many of these patients have had x-rays that were reported as normal. To confirm a patient suffers from Rhinologic headaches, Dr. Chmiel examines the patient and reviews their old X-rays. If the patient has a headache on the day of the exam, a simple “in-office” test can be performed to see if the patient’s headache is caused by bone spurs in the nose. This test involves applying lidocane to the nasal cavity to determine where the bone spur is. Once located by using lidocane the headache usually disappears instantly. The doctor and the patient can then work together with to devise a plan to resolve the headache problem permanently by removing the bone spur.

Rhinologic headaches also occur in patients who have unknowingly experienced nasal trauma and have developed bone spurs which can cause pain around the eye and above the nose. With recent advances in the safety of outpatient surgery, doctors are increasingly offering minimally invasive techniques to remove headache causing bone spurs.